3157.—Crossing the Jordan—a Type
By F. O.
If the crossing of the Jordan into Canaan is to be taken as a true type of God's people entering the antitypical Canaan on this earth, should not that multitude under Joshua have of necessity included some Gentiles adopted into the commonwealth of Israel and not been restricted to one race or nationality? See Eph. 3:7. There were probably descendants of Gentile mothers who entered Canaan with the Israelites. In fact that was true of some of the Israelites themselves. They had blood outside of Abraham's family mingled with the life-current received from him. But they were so dominantly Israel that they could not be considered anything else. But this is the real point: Those who went into the land of Canaan were to all intents and purposes Israel—children of God, prevailers by faith. Israel is the name by which God has called all His children. It matters not whether there were those of other nationalities or not, they went in as Israel, as members of the tribes; and so in the great antitypical entering of the land of promise, or the eternal salvation in the earth made new, it will not be Gentiles who are saved, or nationalities who are saved, but all will be of Israel. While we read in Eph. 3:6 that Gentiles will be fellow heirs and of the same body, we are told in the second chapter just what that body will be. It will not be a mixed body, but it will be the commonwealth of Israel, and the Gentiles become Israelites before they enter the kingdom, when they become Christ's, when they become true Jews. Rom. 2:28, 29. Then there will be no nationality, neither Greek nor Jew, but all will be Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.